On Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, the students from various G period classes filed into the Lounge for study hall, only for Coach Tim Grooms to tell them to go to the Harrison Lecture Hall. For some, the direction was expected, and others felt confused. As of the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year, overflow study hall classes go to the Harrison Lecture Hall instead of the Lounge where they had gone in previous years. Why the sudden change, though?
There were many factors that the deans took into account when they made the decision last year. Dean of Students Anthony Thomas was the main advocate for the change. The first reason for the change was the lounge: the administration wanted to reserve the lounge for the students who had R period, so that they could relax, watch TV and play ping pong at their leisure. When the lounge holds study hall and students take assessments, it takes away from that lounge feeling. Similarly, they wanted to keep class like a class room.
“We wanted to really make sure that…when a teacher is out at the last minute, that their classes had the true classroom setting instead of just being able to kind of hang out,” Dean Thomas said.
The Harrison Lecture Hall is usually used for a variety of meetings, but it has now received an additional purpose: it’s a place where students now go for study hall so that they can complete the assignments given to them by their absent teachers.
When going to study hall, you’ll spot either Coach Derrick Washington or Coach Grooms at the podium or table. Very rarely, study hall students will be sent to the lounge, if only one of them is present.
Study hall has already taken place at the Harrison Lecture Hall a couple of times this school year. Students such as River Carr ‘26 and Karl Bechtle ‘26 have seen both sides of study hall, and struck by the sudden change of locations.
“I was kind of a little bit irritated, because, you know, with the lounge, you got more stuff to do, like, more accessibility, and it’s a little less serious,” River said. “…Because I felt like, especially with the classes I was taking, it [the Harrison Lecture Hall] was, like, pretty stressful, and it [the lounge] was kind of like a little more relaxed.”
However, they can admit the change has its pros, as it forces students to actually get work done in a more confined space. The change is detrimental to the self-admitted procrastinators who hate doing work during school, though.
“Here, I feel more focused,” Karl said. “It’s also more relaxed. It’s like, I feel like I’m obligated to work.”
The atmosphere isn’t the only thing allowing Harrison Lecture Hall to be used as a workspace; it also provides more outlets for students to plug in their devices.
“There’s more outlets,” Karl said. “So that’s why I think you can do more work in here because it feels like there’s access to outlets… you don’t have to sit in a corner.”
Students can admit the change makes sense. However, some still hold ties to the lounge, feeling as though the change doesn’t fit all classes.
“I feel like it should be dependent based off the classes and work you have to do, but I don’t know how effective that would be,” River said. “Realistically, I feel like, if you are trying to focus and get work done, there’s a lot of charging outlets [in the Harrison Lecture Hall], [but] I know the seats are not as comfortable if you’re sitting in a chair or a couch.”
All in all, although the change may not seem like a big deal in the grand scheme of things, Dean Thomas has already seen a difference in students’ behavior and work-completion.
“I see a difference,” Dean Thomas said. “People are more focused in the classroom setting versus being in the lounge [where] we have a lot of distractions. You have the snack bar, you have ping pong, you have TVs, you have a much more wide open space. And I’ve seen students are more focused in the classroom setting. And I also see that those students who have R period, they’re much more relaxed because there’s not, you know, a classroom, and they’re not having to be quiet because the class is taking a test in the lounge.”
